One Cold Night
by Fen-Wolf
Summary: Set immediately at the end of Episode 10 of Tamers, The Icemon Cometh, showing each person's reaction to Rika's decision that she hates all Digimon. A short story, my first Digimon Fiction. Please R&R! Last Chapter is up! Please leave a review!
1. Chapter 1, The Long Walk Home

Author's Notes: This is set immediately after Episode 10 of Tamers, "The Icemon Cometh", when Rika has declared how much she hates Digimon. It follows the reactions of Takato, Rika, Henry and Renamon to what Rika said. This is my first Digimon Fanfiction, so i'm open for all Reviews :) Please Read and Review, even if it is a flame, this is an ENTIRELY new style for me, so i want to try and improve quickly :)

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"I hate 'em…" Rika muttered quietly as she glared down to the ground at her feet, anger flooding through her as she thought about what had just happened. She was still extremely cold from her time inside the frozen Digital field with IceDevimon, so cold that she couldn't even feel the cold air blowing against her as she stood atop the deserted building.

"Well, he's gone now." Came the voice of Takato from her right, the boy's voice cheerful and happy, he obviously had no idea what she was talking about.

_But he never does. _Thought Rika as she continued to stare down at the ground, _He never understands anything_ She didn't even move her hard stare off the ground as she spoke once more, her voice still low and full of venom. "Not him…" She nearly growled, tensing up as she nearly shouted, her gaze lifting to stare off into the distant darkness off the night sky. "I hate Digimon! All of them!"

She heard the gathered group let of a single, confused gasp as they heard her, everyone but the one person that really mattered. Kyuubimon just lay there for a moment, looking across to her tamer before she let out a long sigh as she pushed herself up onto her feet. The Vixen said nothing though; she just rose up to her feet slowly, her legs shaking and nearly giving out underneath her own weight, a clear sign of a recent injury she had received during her battle with IceDevimon.

_Is that all?! Does she not even care?! _Rika glared across at the large Vixen, her expressive violet eyes shining slightly in the darkness, meeting the Vixen's gaze. The Vixen's eyes were calm, showing little emotion like they usually did, if Kyuubimon felt anything she definitely wasn't showing it. _I don't need her… I don't want her! _

Rika turned quickly and strode off as quickly as she could, but she didn't run, she wanted to get away from them but she would never run from them; she had an image to maintain. She heard Takato shouting after her but she ignored him, she wouldn't let him try to talk her out of what she said, the boy was far too naïve to know when just to leave something alone.

She reached the access point for the roof quickly and the automatic doors slide open before her as she approached them. She stepped through quickly and moved towards the central staircase that would take her right down out of the building without her needing to pass anyone else. She waited until she heard the soft _swoosh_ as the automatic door closed behind her, hiding her from view immediately. The second she knew she was out of view she began to run, taking the steps two at a time as she tried to get away as fast as she could.

She could feel the first tears beginning to roll down her cheeks, only one or two at first but they began to flow faster and she quickly found it hard to keep running as her breathing began to become irregular as she tried not to cry out more. She kept running even though she couldn't hear anyone following her, she knew Henry had probably stopped Takato from following. She didn't like him because of his passivism but he was mature and very intelligent compared to Takato, he at least knew when things should be left alone.

She reached the bottom of the stairs quickly but she didn't stop there, she just kept running. She pushed open the Fire Exit the boys had used to get inside and just ran on as fast as she could, tears nearly blinding her by now. She would never have done anything like this before, revealing her emotions was something she never liked to do in public, but this was strange. She could have waited inside until her tears had stopped, but she knew by the time she had stopped Takato and Henry would probably have caught up with them.

Rika knew something was strange about this time though, she had cried before but this felt some much worse then all the times before. She had been too young at the time to have understood why her father had died, but she knew she hadn't felt this bad. Rika wanted to put it down to her age, for being more sensitive now that she was older, but something deep within her told her that something was definitely not right this time.

Her cheeks were red with exertion and her vision was blurred, her breathing was starting to come in deep pants now, she knew she had to stop running. The street she was on were crowded though, people milling around her as she slowed her run to a jog, and finally she came to a full stop. She could still feel tears rolling down her face, her cheeks starting to numb because of the cold air and the wet tears. She needed to get out of the way before she got anymore unwanted attention, and she went to the only place she saw that was empty. She stepped quickly into one of the narrow alleys between two of the shops, disappearing into the darkness quickly.

It was nearly pitch black inside the alley but because of the street lights out in the street and the glow from several of the windows on the second floors of the shops, it wasn't entirely dark. Rika could still make out the outlines of things, and quickly moved deeper until she stood beside one of the large bins that stood against one of the buildings. She leaned forwards quickly, placing her hands on the wall to steady herself, her legs feeling weak and sore after the running.

_Why did I ever have to meet her…? I shouldn't have ever __let her get__ close._ She thought, fresh tears beginning to roll down her cheeks again but this time she quickly reached up to wipe them away with one of her sweatbands. "Renamon… I hate you…" She growled out loud, glaring at the darkness before her. "I hate you the most of all…."

Glass crunched loudly off to her left and she heard something shuffling loudly beside her in the darkness. Rika gasped at the sudden noise and turned quickly to look into the darkness, where something new had appeared close by her. A figure stood there in the darkness, a large human that towered above her and nearly stretched across the entire alleyway with fat bulging muscles and broad shoulders. Rika stepped back in shock but one of her large sneakers landed wetly on a rotting newspaper and she lost her footing. With a loud gasp she fell backwards in the darkness.

She landed on her butt heavily, grunting out loudly as her right shoulder struck off one of the smaller garbage cans. She heard a crack as her D-Arc came free, striking firmly against the concrete and bouncing away into the darkness beneath a nearby bin. She looked up again towards where she had seen the figure a moment before, but it was strange. The huge man who had stood only a foot or two away from her was gone, vanished without a trace.

She stared into the darkness for several long moments before she let out a long sigh. _Great… now I'm__ starting to__ see things._ She kept staring ahead of her at the darkness until she was sure there wasn't anything there, but there was nothing before her in the alley. _Or was I…_ She glared suddenly into the darkness ahead of her, "Renamon?" No answer came though; there was no noise at all from the darkness before her. "I guess not…"

She began to pull herself up but she remembered her D-Arc, the device somewhere underneath the large bin to her right. She briefly thought she should leave it, she wasn't a tamer anymore, so she didn't know why she would need it anymore, but she knew deep down inside she couldn't just leave it. She shifted closer to the bin and reached down underneath it, patting around curiously with a hand as she tried to feel out the device. She felt more rotting newspaper squelch under her hand and even felt some broken glass, but her hand soon found the smooth device in the darkness. She grabbed it firmly and pulled it out into the light again, she strapped it onto her belt again without a second thought before she pushed herself up onto her feet. With one final glance over her shoulder to make sure everything was clear, she moved out of the darkness again. Her tears had stopped by now, the temporary fear had driven away her sadness for now, but she didn't think on it at all, she knew it'd set her off again.

She headed home as quickly as she could now, but this time she didn't run at all, she had her image to keep. She wouldn't let any stupid Digimon ruin things for her. Especially not Renamon.


	2. Chapter 2, I Couldn't Do It

Author's Notes: This is based on Takato's point of view on things. I tried to show off his innocence in it, but not sure i pulled it off. :P The third chapter will be based around Henry. Please R&R when you read :) Thanks DigimonFan100127 for the Review :) Hopefully i'll get more, I want to know if I've got a good enough writing style for Digimon

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"Rika, you don't mean that…" Takato shouted after the girl but she didn't seem to hear him as she just kept walking on, her fists clenched down by her sides as she strode away into the night. She wasn't the only one leaving though, as Takato soon heard soft footsteps from behind him, even softer than Rika's had been.

By the time he had turned around Kyuubimon was up on her feet and was beginning to pad away in the opposite direction from her tamer. "Kyuubimon wait a minute! Where are you going!?" He called out after her but the Vixen was very much like her tamer, as she totally blanked the young human as she continued across the flat roof towards the fenced edge. The Digimon stepped up onto a raised section of the roof and moved to stand with her front legs on top of the fence. She didn't even look back before she leapt out and disappeared into the darkness.

Takato stared silently out into the darkness where Kyuubimon had disappeared for a few long moments before his attention was drawn back as he felt a cold shiver running up along his spine. _This can't be happening…_ He thought to himself, his eyes still fixed on the darkness far beyond him, but he was able to pull his gaze away from the darkness so he could look across the roof after Rika. She like Kyuubimon was out of his field of vision by now, the automatic doors sealing a moment after he had looked across. _I can't let this happen!_

Takato stepped forwards as he moved to follow Rika, but he never got a chance. Henry reached out suddenly and placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from following after the other tamer. "Don't Takato. What do you honestly think you can do to help them right now?" Henry asked quietly as he stepped around to position himself before Takato, staring him right in the eyes. "Rika is upset; she's been through a lot today. If you go after her now she'll just get angry at you too."

Takato knew Henry was right, the boy was mature beyond his age; he understood things that Takato had never even heard about. "But… we can't just leave them like this…" He said quietly, casting a glance past Henry towards the sealed doors, he could feel a tear building up in the corner of his right eye. While Rika was cold, and Henry was wise, Takato was the most sensitive member of the group, he let his emotions rule him more then either of the other two.

"You know Rika. She's scared and feeling weak right now, and that's not how she likes it. She just wants to blame something other then herself for what she feels, so I'm guessing it was just Renamon's turn." Henry looked away from Takato, looking across to their right where their Digimon still stood silently. "Rika couldn't _really_ hate these guys… could she?"

Terriermon shook his head quickly, his large ears bouncing and flapping about because of the sudden movement. "Nope! It's just Rika being Rika! Her and Renamon will be back to insulting us by tomorrow!" The little Digimon grinned up towards his tamer as he hugged his ears down against his body with his short arms, trying to keep himself warm.

"You know I hate to admit it, but he's right Takato. Just go home and get some sleep. If they haven't made up by tomorrow, well….it could be a problem." Henry smiled reassuringly to his friend, giving his shoulder a squeeze before he removed his hand so he could fold his arms over his chest. "We'll just deal with it when it comes, but its late now. Sleep will do everyone some good."

Takato didn't meet Henry's gaze though; he just stared past the boy towards the access point quietly. Henry had known when to leave Rika alone, but now he knew that it was time to leave Takato alone, he couldn't do anything when Takato was in one of his moods. He just patted him gently on the shoulder again before looking down to Terriermon. "Let's get going, Terriermon. Suzie'll be missing you."

The small rabbit Digimon crossed to Henry and with a single jump leapt up to land partially on Henry's right shoulder and partially on the back of his head. He leaned down against Henry as the boy began to walk away towards the access point. He waved once back to Takato before he disappeared through the automatic doors.

Takato watched as Henry and Terriermon disappeared from view behind the automatic doors as well, leaving him and Guilmon alone on the roof in the cold silence of the night. The silence didn't last long though, as Guilmon stepped in towards his side nearly immediately and bumped his nose to Takato's side gently. "Takatomon?" He asked quietly before he stepped around in front of his tamer, his ear fins lowered on his head as he looked up towards Takato. "What's the matter?"

Takato hadn't noticed he'd been crying until Guilmon had spoken, a slow stream of his salty tears rolling down his face to drip down off his cheeks slowly. He reached up quickly to wipe the tears away with the back of his hand, taking in a loud sniff. "I'm fine… just got something in my eye." He said quickly as he continued wiping at his eyes, trying to remove fresh tears as they continued to roll down his cheeks again. "I'll be fine in a second…" He couldn't see anything, the tears temporarily blinding him as he kept trying to wipe them away, but he did become aware of a red object that moved right up in front of his face.

"Want me to have a look?" Guilmon said loudly, the Dinosaur's hot breath washing over Takato's face as Guilmon spoke right in front of his tamer's face. Guilmon leaned in until he was nearly nose to nose with Takato, trying to see what was in Takato's eye but the boy's hands blocked his vision. The Dinosaur began to bump his nose against Takato's hands, trying to nuzzle them out of his way like a dog would. "Let me see!" Guilmon whined loudly as if Takato was hiding something secret from him.

Takato laughed loudly at Guilmon, a cheery laugh that filled the entire night around them for several long minutes before he finally couldn't laugh anymore; the boy reduced to taking in deep pants of breath. Guilmon was still laughing though, the Dinosaur obviously had no idea what he was laughing about but the sound of his Tamer's laugher was driving him too it though. Takato smiled warmly as he stared at his Digimon, his closest friend in the whole world. _I don't know how Rika could ever hate Digimon…Renamon isn't as friendly as Guilmon but she's still as special. I just can't get my head around that girl._

He shook his head quickly to try and clear his thoughts, Guilmon's innocence and naivety had stopped his tears but he knew he'd start crying again if he concentrated on it again. He just wanted to go home now.

Guilmon finally stopped laughing, but his cheery form hadn't left him as he beamed up at Takato, his large tail wagging quickly behind him. He was a Dinosaur by nature, which was obvious by his appearance but he shared so many traits with dogs; something Takato was happy about. The Digimon was young, only a few weeks old but already he was as mature as many five year old children, but he still retained his playful nature despite everything that they had been through.

Guilmon and Terriermon were quite similar; they both enjoyed playing around and having fun, which made them quite different from Renamon. Rika's Digimon was quiet and seemed to spend little time with the girl, but from what Takato had seen she was brave and had tried to save Rika on many occasions. He couldn't understand why Rika would turn against someone who would save her at the risk of their own lives, but he was hoping that Henry was right and this was only a passing phase in the girl's life.

"Come on boy…its time to go home." Takato said finally as he reached out to pat Guilmon once on the head, before he turned and began to head towards the access point; Guilmon by his side.

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Author's Notes: May i ask that people who read this try to leave a reply? I'm mostly posting this short story before i try a longer one because i want to improve my writing style first, so i'd like ANY help that is available.


	3. Chapter 3, The Voice of Reason

Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews both of you :) I'm right now planning a series which i think should go well, the first story is nearly fully planned and I nearly have the first chapter complete so it should be up sometime over the week end or early next week:) Read and Review everyone :D

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Henry sat silently on his balcony as he looked out across the dark city, not even bothered by the cold wind that constantly blew across him. He was too focused on the city before him to notice anything else around him, the boy just watching the nearby rooftops of the other apartment buildings but occasionally he let his gaze drift down to the streets far below him, but there was little movement down on the streets so late at night.

"You're looking for her, aren't you?" Asked a quiet voice from the seat beside him, quickly followed by a loud yawn as the rabbit-dog Digimon tried to ward off sleep for a little longer. Henry had totally forgotten that Terriermon had moved out from inside to join him an hour before, mostly because the two had been sitting in total silence the whole time.

"Yeah…" He muttered quietly before he let out a long sigh, the boy slowly leaning forwards until his head was in his hands. "Kinda stupid, huh?"

"Yupe!" The Digimon said loudly, suddenly brightening up now that there was a chance of a conversation starting. "That Fur-Ball's not going to let you see her, even if she _did _come by. Anyway, it's Renamon! Cold as ice. Do you _really_ think she's going to take what Rika said to heart?" He let out a low giggle suddenly. "If she even has one."

Henry smiled slightly as he looked across to Terriermon, "That's considered rude." He joked before he looked back out to the city again, looking for anything that would give away the location of the vixen "I can't help but feel sorry for her though… she may have tried to kill Guilmon but…" He looked back towards Terriermon suddenly, "Do you remember that time at the car park?"

"Yeh! First time I became a _real_ hiney-whooping machine!" Terriermon said, a grin spreading across his wide face quickly, "Why?"

"Renamon had tried to protect you, remember…?" He asked, sitting a little more upright now, rubbing his hands together quickly as he began to try and warm up. "When she was about to attack Guilmon… she told you to get out of the way. She tried to defend you."

"I probably just threw off her aim or something." He said as he wrapped his ears in around him slowly, wrapping him up like the big ears were like a blanket. "She's a puppy-kicker. Not as bad as Impmon but she's definitely not a good girl."

"I don't think so…Even that time we showed up when she was fighting Guilmon at the baseball field. She hesitated when Guilmon was close to Takato." Henry leaned back in his chair slowly, looking up towards the stars in the night sky. "I don't think either of them are as bad as they are trying to show."

Terriermon just grunted slightly and let silence fall across them both again, both of them now just staring out into the darkness of the city. Henry didn't know why he was looking out for Renamon, or thinking about her so much, but he had a reasonable guess. Rika tried to hide her character but he had seen through it quickly enough, he knew what she was doing and knew what she was going through right now. Renamon though…she was still an enigma to him. She was silent and he had hardly ever even spent more then two minutes with her, and he had never had a conversation with her; he had no idea what she was going through right now.

_She could be over the moon with joy or suicidal for all I know about it._ He clenched his right hand into a tight fist in frustration as he glared out into the darkness; _I wish I just knew where she was…_

His concentration was broken abruptly as he heard Terriermon beginning to snore softly beside him; the Digimon just couldn't ward off his tiredness anymore. Henry smiled slightly but didn't disturb Terriermon yet, he'd awaken him before he moved in to his bedroom, so for awhile he just sat there looking over the small Digimon. Terriermon was his closest friend already, despite the short time that they had spent together; the little Digimon hadn't yet learned exactly how to behave in the human world yet but even that hadn't put Henry off. _If I feel this close to him now… how close would I __feel if he ever saved my life? I wonder if Rika even thinks about things like this…maybe Renamon doesn't either._

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, he knew things would be different with different tamers and partners, he liked Terriermon as a friend, but Rika didn't seem to show that kind of bond with Renamon. Henry sometimes didn't even know if it had existed at times, but he was sure Rika cared for Renamon, just by how she spoke when she was still in IceDevimon's hold. The idea of that made him smile suddenly, he felt better now that he knew that they were at least both friends, it meant things could be resolved easier. He didn't want lie to himself though; he knew things would be harder to sort out than that.

"Renamon…where are you…?" He sighed loudly before he pushed himself up to stand on the balcony, quickly stepping forwards to lean on the railing before him as he looked out across the city. "Just… make it through the night. Tomorrow'll be better." He lied to himself finally, he didn't want to but it'd be the only way he might get any sleep at night; and deep down inside he hoped that Renamon had heard him, somehow.

He turned finally and headed off towards the doorway, scooping Terriermon up into his arms as he headed into his room.


	4. Chapter 4, The Constant Guardian

Kyuubimon didn't jump nearly as far as she could if she had really tried, she only leapt down to the roof of one of the nearby, smaller buildings. By the time her feet had touched the loose gravel of the roof she had reverted back to her Rookie form, her most common and stable form; Renamon. She landed gracefully on her paws, the short fall nothing compared to what her strong legs could take and had already taken before. Her limp was mostly gone though; the wonders of Digivolution had mostly cured her off the minor injury like it usually did.

The cold wind blew across her body as she turned to look back up towards the building, her tail and fur blowing slightly in the wind but it didn't bother her much. She focused her keen eyes on the roof's edge as she made sure no one had followed her, they never had done so before but she always was careful just encase someone ever did. She was alone now though, and she knew she'd stay alone for the rest of the night, but that wasn't anything new for her. She could have disappeared off into the night and waited until the next day before approaching Rika, but she had one final mission to complete that night.

The Vixen crossed the roof silently, the loose gravel she stepped on barely even moving under her weight as she padded over it as she moved towards the edge of the building. She took her time though, moving in long, slow strides that seemed strange to her, someone used to having to move so fast to survive, but she knew she'd have to wait longer if she rushed, so she just let things happen slowly for once. Still, even taking it slowly it only took her less than thirty seconds to reach the roof's edge and step up onto the raised section there.

Renamon waited patiently, though she knew most people wouldn't have done so, after what Rika had said most would have left her immediately, but Renamon was different. Rika had been cruel to her but Renamon was still her partner, Rika's safety was her top priority, and she knew Rika would need a little help on her way home. Rika was tough on the outside but Renamon knew her better than that, she could already basically sense that the girl was upset already.

She didn't have to wait long to see just how upset Rika was, as the girl appeared from a doorway at the base of the building a minute or two later, moving at full sprint as she headed quickly in the direction of her home. Renamon let her get a head start before she followed, the Vixen just moving along the Rooftop on the other side of the street from her, jumping across to a new roof occasionally so she could keep up with her Tamer.

_Why am I doing this? _ She thought to herself quietly as she followed at little more than a jog to keep up with the girl. _She told me she didn't want me? So why am I helping her? _The answer evaded her, but she kept up with following Rika through the city, but it was starting to get harder now that the buildings were varying in height a lot more. She knew he had to get down to street level so she simply turned mid-step and leapt off the roof with a growl. That single leap allowed her to clear the entire street easily.

She landed effortlessly on the pavement on the far side, only twenty metres behind Rika, and the Vixen began to follow once more, but even with a slow, bounding stride she was able to easily keep the distance the same. To her she still existed, she knew she was there, but to the rest of the world she was gone, and totally invisible to anyone who might be looking her way. She was able to follow the girl now without having to worry about Rika spotting her.

The streets were mostly bare, but still a few people were on the streets, most of them stopping and staring at Rika as she sped past them. She was noticing that more and more people were beginning to appear on the pavement now though, and she had to slow herself down as Rika began to slow down more as she tried to dodge even more people. Renamon could hear Rika's breathing from where she was; deep pants for breath as the girl tried to keep running but she was already fatigued after a long day so she couldn't last much longer.

Renamon's guess was accurate, as the young girl soon slowed from a full sprint to a stumbling walk within a few seconds. Renamon's eyes widened in shock though as the girl moved off the pavement and stepped down into one of the alleyways; disappearing into the darkness within. _What is she doing?!_ Renamon moved quicker now, breaking into a full sprint but she knew she was already too later as a moment before she reached the entrance she heard Rika scream. Renamon was a professional at fighting though; she knew exactly what to do.

She reached the entrance still at full sprint but she didn't stop, she had herself angled slightly towards the entrance so if she continued on she'd hit one of the walls. She leapt forwards though and turned herself in the air so she could kick herself off the wall and launch herself down the alleyway. The second she was inside the alley she saw the threat, a huge man standing in the darkness of the alley only a metre or so from Rika. Rika had just hit the ground by the time Renamon was inside the alley, which worked in her favour as Renamon had a few seconds to do her work before Rika spotted her.

Her invisibility spell broke the second she made contact with the man but that didn't matter as within another second she was out of sight once more. She made sure he made no noise at all, a paw placed to his mouth was enough to silence him as she tackled him roughly into the darkness of the alley. She pulled him deep into the darkness and spun him around to pin him strongly against the wall, her paw still clamped tightly over his mouth, keeping him quiet even though he struggled. He was a big man, even compared to Renamon but she was naturally stronger than humans so she was able to hold him steady.

Renamon glanced across to where Rika sat, but she couldn't stare for long, her eyes shone out in the darkness and she was forced to close them to avoid detection. She heard movement for a few long moments before Rika suddenly said her name, the Vixen was about to step out and reveal herself when Rika spoke again. "I guess not…."

Renamon held her breath and squeezed her paw firmly around the struggling man's mouth as he tried to scream out for help. Rika stood there for a few more seconds before she turned and walked out of the alleyway, leaving Renamon in silence once more. Renamon didn't break from cover immediately though, she waited to make sure the Girl wasn't going to appear again before she finally stepped forwards out of the darkness; the man still held in her powerful grip easily.

"Eh…that was awkward." She said quietly before she let out a near silent sigh, still easily holding the man by his collar even though he was starting to squirm more and more. "I think I need to teach you a little lesson, human. Don't ever pick on little girls." She snarled into his ear, turning him around so she was face to face with him, her fangs exposed to him like an animal would, her grip tightening on his collar.

The man swung at her face, one of his fat fists connecting strongly against her right cheek but she hardly even moved as the man drew back his arm to strike her again; his thick biceps bulging against his tight shirt. Renamon just rolled her eyes and with a strong flick of her wrist she tossed him heavily against the wall with a loud thud. The man fell to the ground in a heap, sprawled unconscious on the floor in the alley, groaning loudly where he lay. Renamon just left him there though as she stepped outside into the street once more.

The crowds were larger now than they had been a few minutes before, mostly older teenagers moving towards night clubs and bars. The second her paw had touched the pavement again she had disappeared from view, but now with more crowds around her it was going to be harder for her to avoid anyone touching her. She moved in close to the front of the building to avoid bumping into any of the humans, but she had to start moving again as she spotted Rika heading off down the pavement. The girl was moving at a walk now, which made it considerably easier for Renamon to follow her through the thicker crowds.

Renamon walked patiently after the girl, no more then ten metres from her at any time, she had spent a lot of time out in the streets at night but Rika hadn't so she had to be observant to watch for any dangers. It looked clear to her though; most of the older teenagers just outright ignored the young girl as they moved towards their destinations. Renamon was happy to just follow in the shadows, icy blue eyes scanning the shadows and the crowd before her and Rika but she saw nothing that would cause any alarm.

The crowds began to thin out as they moved into a more secluded section of the city, moving out of the heavily urban area and heading out into the residential area. The smaller number of crowds and the longer periods between them meant that Renamon had some time to think about the events of the night. She knew she had a strange relationship with Rika, not at all like Terriermon's or Guilmon's but she never have thought it was as bad as Rika had made it. That got her wondering whose fault it really was.

_Did I do something wrong…could I have avoided it if I had beaten IceDevimon without needing the other's help? _ She frowned and shook her head, the Vixen trying to really concentrate on the matter but she couldn't understand the reasons behind it. _After everything we've been through, how could it be over so easily?_

Renamon stopped following Rika through the streets as they entered the residential areas, the Vixen moving off across the rooftops of the nearby buildings until she had arrived at Rika's house, not far from where she left Rika. She leapt up onto an overhead telephone line and stood entirely still on it, watching Rika from the distance as the girl walked towards her house.

"What am I meant to do now?" She asked herself out loud, watching as Rika reached her doorway and opened it silently, sneaking into her house. "Do I stay here with Rika and hope she takes me back? Or should I just leave…?" She let out a quiet sigh, her ears lowering slowly on her head as she thought about it. "I thought we had gotten somewhere in our relationship. I guess I was wrong."

A low rumbled filled the night around her as thunder sounded the approach of a large storm, the wind already beginning to pick up suddenly. "I guess I should find somewhere to sleep…" She looked across towards Rika's house as she watched the girl disappear inside her room, "Good night Rika…" She concentrated for a moment before she disappeared from sight, teleporting away into the night.


	5. Chapter 5, An Approaching Storm

Author's Notes: Well, this is the last chapter of the short story. I think it was kinda rushed and didn't come out like i had wanted to. I hope I get a few more reviews for this chapter but i'm still happy with a few :) I have a longer story planned and had planned to have a chapter or 2 posted up but that didn't work out how i wanted so I may post up another short story to fill the gap :)

I hope everyone who read the story enjoyed it, keep an eye out for more of my work and leave a review. Thanks :)

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Nothing moved around her in the darkness, but nothing ever moved in her room at night, that didn't matter to her now though, for some reason she felt oddly exposed and vulnerable to all of the hidden evils of the world. She had never been so cautious before, her bright violet eyes constantly scanning the room around her encase something or someone was there; something she had never even considered doing when she knew that Renamon was close by to look over her.

_She's not close by though...She doesn't care about me, if she did she'd still be here. She just wanted me to make her stronger._ She glared up towards the ceiling as her eyes finished scanning the room, _and...I don't care about her either..._ She thought to herself, but no matter how many times she thought it she knew it didn't sound right to her.

She let out a silent sigh as she let her vision drop down from the ceiling and she looked off to her right towards the wicker basket she used as a bin for her room, the bin where her D-Arc and cards now lay. She had thrown them into the bin in bad temper earlier but she was beginning to wish that she hadn't, but she wouldn't go and get them out of it. Just encase Renamon was there and saw her do it. She couldn't show any weaknesses, especially not now.

_Maybe it'll be better tomorrow... Renamon will be back and we can continue on as normal...humph! And pigs'll fly._ She rolled over onto her side and pulled the cover of her bedroll up over her head with another sigh. _I blew it this time...but I'll find a new partner. A better one and we'll show her..._ She closed her eyes slowly and tried to push the thoughts from her mind but she couldn't stop thinking about Renamon. It was several hours before the Vixen finally left her thoughts to let the girl sleep for the few hours left before the morning came.

Takato stared silently down at the picture before him, a brightly coloured vixen Digimon standing against the white background, roughly scribbled down amongst drawings of his own Digimon. He wanted to draw more pictures of Guilmon, easily his favourite subject to draw since the emergence of the dinosaur-like Digimon several weeks before, but now he couldn't bring himself to draw him, all he could think about was Renamon.

He dropped the pen in defeat, letting it fall onto his desk next to the picture as he pushed himself back in his chair. He glanced to his left, his eyes focusing on the darkness outside his window, staring out across the dark cityscape of Tokyo, light in areas by the pinpricks of lights. Renamon was somewhere out there, he just knew it, but he always knew that, the 

Vixen seemed to spend little time in one place, especially at night like the other Digimon. He didn't worry about her, he knew she was strong, stronger then most probably thought, but it was Rika that he felt for. He had felt what it was like to have lost his Digimon, only for a short period of time but still he knew how much it had hurt him, so he could guess how Rika was feeling.

"I wonder if it's different though…" He muttered to himself, leaning back in his chair, letting himself slide down a little more in it until he was comfortable. "She chose to leave her." Even when he said it out loud it still didn't sound right to him, he couldn't understand why anyone would choose to leave one of their friends for such a simple reason. He stopped suddenly and looked down towards the picture as he realised something. He didn't even know what the reason was.

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Henry shifted a little more up against the wall as Terriermon stretched out slowly, the rabbit's long ears perking up for a second before they flopped back down across Henry's legs. _Hmm...for a little guy he sure takes up a lot of room. _Henry thought with a smile, as he rolled onto his side to make it easier for both of them to fit onto the single bed. _I wonder if Rika ever let Renamon sleep in her bed..? _He shook his head and lifted a hand to pat himself softly on the head, a small smile appearing on his face. _Not this again..._

Renamon had been plaguing his thoughts since he had went to bed, and he could hardly think of anything but the Vixen Digimon and her tamer now. They had never really helped him much or shown any kindness to him but Rika and he shared a bond through their roles as Tamers. It wasn't much but it was still a reason to want to help her.

_Did she ever even let Renamon feel wanted? I know me and Takato think of our Digimon as friends, but does she? Or is Renamon just a toy she got bored with? _He patted himself harder on his head, closer to a slap now as he tried to drive the Vixen from his mind, but she remained there. _She's not a toy though... this is all real. _

Henry looked down towards Terriermon and smiled slightly, the small Digimon was sprawled out across the foot of his bed, taking up the majority of it. He was happy he could keep Terriermon close; if he had Renamon who he couldn't keep in his room he'd probably go crazy with worry about how she was every night. He was nearly crazy with worry about her already, and she wasn't even his responsibility.

Cold air was funneled down through the branches of the tree as the approaching storm began to blow harder and harder, the wind blasting across the city mercilessly. There was no sign of rain clouds in the sky but Renamon had picked somewhere with cover just encase things turned bad for her, so the base of one of the Park's largest trees was the ideal place for her to sleep. 

She stared out across the open spaces of the park to one of the duck ponds where the moonlight danced across the surface as the wind caused ripples to pass across the normally smooth water. The ducks had all taken flight earlier to escape the coming storm, something Renamon knew she should have done too, but she had a nice view and she wanted to keep it for as long as she possibly could before she was forced to leave.

"Is it really over?" She pondered out loud, her brilliant blue eyes lowering to the ground by her paws as she folded her arms across her chest slowly. "Am I really alone now?" The wind blew stronger against her but her thick fur warded off the cold. She certainly was alone tonight, but that wasn't new to her, she often spent a lot of in isolation and rarely had slept in Rika's house or even near it.

Rika had been her first ever friend, no one else she had ever met had tried to befriend her but that was the way in the Digital World most of the time. "But then, Rika never tried to befriend me either... or did she? Maybe she did and I just got it wrong?" Renamon was the most mentally mature out of all of the Digimon who had tamers but she didn't understand the concept of friendship like the others did, it was something totally alien to her. "Maybe it wasn't Rika's fault at all. Am I not good enough for her...or not human enough like Terriermon? Or like a pet, like Guilmon..."

The Vixen lifted her gaze to the moon that hung lazily overhead, reflecting the sun's light down across her in its own ghostly glow. It was beautiful to watch and it helped her relax where she sat, the Vixen soon closing her eyes as she tried to sleep, but her head was filled with thoughts of Rika and sleep evaded her once more.

"Maybe she wasn't good enough for me..."


End file.
